Wales Faces Sewage Crisis with Over 118,000 Discharges in a Single Year

Catastrophic levels of sewage pollution have once again put Welsh waters in the spotlight, as campaign group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) revealed that Dŵr Cymru released sewage into rivers, lakes, and the sea more than 118,000 times in 2024, averaging over one spill every five minutes.

The annual report, released today, exposes Dŵr Cymru as the UK’s worst offender for confirmed sewage discharges, a situation SAS describes as “lacking ambition” and “truly unacceptable,” while campaigners say the company has “no shame over the catastrophic levels of discharge.”

The data is even more alarming when considering that in just the first two months of 2025, SAS recorded 8,432 discharges across Wales, indicating that the crisis is far from abating. The Safer Seas and Rivers Service app, which monitors water quality at over 600 UK locations, listed Llanfairfechan in Conwy, Penarth Beach in the Vale of Glamorgan, and Swansea Bay among the ten most impacted Welsh sites in 2024, with Llanfairfechan alone suffering 629 sewage discharges.

This pollution has led to warnings at more than 25 beaches in Wales, including major tourist destinations like Criccieth, Tenby, Colwyn Bay, and Swansea, with environmental campaigners urging the public to avoid swimming due to health risks.

SAS’s annual report documented 1,853 sickness reports from UK water users last year, with 331 people needing to see a doctor and 79% of those cases attributed by medical professionals to sewage pollution. The economic impact is significant, with an estimated £493,200 lost to sick days, though SAS warns the real scale of illness from poor water quality is likely much higher.

“The sheer lack of ambition shown by Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water to reduce pollution shows they have no shame over the catastrophic levels of sewage they are spewing into Wales’ beautiful coastline, rivers and lakes. With such clear mismanagement, it’s no wonder that less than a quarter of people believe that their water supplier has used their bill payments responsibly. Welsh waters have been polluted for far too long and the whole system is to blame. Dŵr Cyrmu Welsh Water has been polluting regularly. A shambolic regulator has let them get away with it and the government is asleep at the wheel. It’s time for change. With an election rapidly approaching, politicians in Wales need to stop stalling and start acting to get a grip on this broken system,” said Giles Bristow, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage.

Dŵr Cymru responded by highlighting that Wales has over 2,300 storm overflows, a high number for its population, and that the country’s westward position brings some of the UK’s highest rainfall, which increases the frequency of sewer overflows.

“Both England and Wales are working to tackle issues surrounding storm overflows, with a slightly different focus. Wales is focused on tackling storm overflows that cause the most environmental harm first. In England, the focus is on reducing the numbers of spills. We operate over 2,300 storm overflows in Wales as we have a very high number of assets for a relatively small population. Many of our rural communities are served by smaller sewerage networks and storm overflows, which are essential to ensure networks do not become overwhelmed and flood properties. A spill from a very small rural overflow in Wales counts the same as a huge storm overflow in a large UK city that you could drive a bus through. Also, as a country on the western side of the UK, we have some of the highest levels of rainfall. The more rainfall, the more times the sewer system is at capacity and will spill. Wales has some of the best bathing waters in the UK and 44% of our rivers in Wales are in good ecological status compared to 14% in England. Over the next five years we’ll invest £2.5bn on projects to improve the environment, including £889m on investigating and improving storm overflows.”

Despite these assurances, public trust remains low, with only 24% of people believing their water bills are used responsibly, and water bills have risen by an average of £86 this year as the sector faces a £104 billion infrastructure upgrade.

While monitoring of sewage overflows in Wales is nearly comprehensive, experts and campaigners agree that knowing the scale of the problem is only the first step, and urgent action is needed to reduce the volume of untreated sewage entering the nation’s treasured waterways.

Environmental groups warn that the UK consistently ranks among the worst in Europe for coastal water quality, and with warnings issued for dozens of Welsh beaches, the pressure is mounting on authorities and water companies alike to prioritize public health and environmental protection.